


Remnants of the Mississippi Purchase

by magical_octopus333



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: Angst, Eventual Death, Gen, M/M, Mississippi Purchase, No death scene tho, Swearing, thats not for a while tho.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 17:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18503350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magical_octopus333/pseuds/magical_octopus333
Summary: Cavendish didn't really think on what Dakota meant about "the Mississippi Purchase", but Dakota isn't talking and all of the Time Travel Text books he has kept don't mention that alternate timeline at all. So what happened?Basically my thoughts on what may have happened over there.





	Remnants of the Mississippi Purchase

     He had stepped away for only a moment- merely a second- to retrieve a message from Head Quarters, only to find Dakota, kneeling by the water. He had been so excited about a new assignment that he didn’t even notice the cart at first.

     “This is it! From headquarters. Fi—” Cavendish stopped, looking around for the cart. “Where's the cart?” If Cavendish had looked down, he would have probably saw the large, gaping hole left in the dock, or the bags of pistachios left all around and in the water.

     “Well, there was this swordfish-”

     “In freshwater?”

     “I know, right?” Dakota raises his hands up helplessly, almost shrugging of the absurd event. Cavendish paused for a moment before slightly shaking his head.

     “Never mind that..” replied, a happy tone slipping in as he opened the orange envelope from Head Quarters. “Our new assignment…”

     As he began reading the paper out loud, he couldn’t help but feel excited about the prospect of a worthwhile mission, finally! But as he read it, it wasn’t long before he realized that it was just blasted pistachios! He’d usually be angry, but having done this time after time again… he just felt tired. As the word ‘pistachios’ rolled off his tongue, his shoulders fell and his mustache drooped. His hopes and the mission report both fell from him, a sigh spilling out. He stood back up, having slouched forward.

     “You know,” Cavendish began, eyes turned to the sky as if looking for an answer,

     “I was aware that this was not the most glamorous of assignments, but dagnabit!”

     He barely restrained himself from stomping his foot like a petulant child, arms crossing over his chest as he continued with ranting

     “I didn't study time travel for twenty cycles to end up as a blasted nut cart operator!” His arms uncrossed to wave about, as if by the clench of his fists he could change the way things were, or just to show his indignation.

     “I joined up to save the world!” He proclaimed this, posing like a hero before crossing his arms and pouting, staring off at a boat setting out on the lake.

     “I joined up to prevent the Mississippi Purchase”, Dakota replied, staring blankly up at Cavendish. His partner turned his eyes away from the water to stare at him, face slacking to look at him tiredly.

     “... you mean the Louisiana purchase?” Dakota smiled at his disapproving coworker, a certain smugness in the head tilt he aimed towards the tall man.

     “You’re welcome”, he purred, staring up at his disbelieving partner, almost seeing a smile slide under that bushy mustache of his.

     Cavendish hadn’t thought much of this at the time, quickly going on with his plan of getting a better mission, but later he had thought back on it, in their office.

     “You know, Dakota?” he called to his coworker as Dakota moved over to his desk, easily flipping a switch that transformed his desk into a couch- one of the few things from the future he had. Dakota turned to his partner, one eyebrow raised at him before he flopped back on the retro-looking couch.

     “I don’t believe that I had read anywhere about that Mississippi Purchase business anywhere in my studies-”

     “And you won’t, Cav." He puffed out a sigh, laying across the couch easily. "Forget I said anything about it.”

Cavendish turned to his partner, his eyebrows and nose scrunching up, and head slightly tilted. Dakota sighed, regretting what he said shortly after having said it. If there is anything he had learned about Cavendish, it would be that Cavendish, if he was truly curious, could hound you to infinity to find something out, could go to the ends of the earth for something he wanted. Last time that had happened was the moon- and Dakota didn't want a repeat of that. 

     “The mission wasn’t completely successful..” Dakota sighed, turning on his couch so his back was to Cavendish before he continued. “... and it had resulted... in the death of a member… okay?” Dakota replied, glaring at the back of the couch- not that Cavendish could see. Even with his eyes on the couch, he could still tell Cavendish hadn’t moved- still watching him. His eyes bore into his back. A minute. Two.

     Dakota closed his eyes. He could hear the clock- Cavendish’s blasted pocket watch. Time, tormenting him. Tick Tick Tick. Tick. Tick. _Tick._

 

_A click then ticking, ticking, filling his ears for a whole breath before he ran. His heart beat in time with the ticks as it pounded in his ears, against his chest, through his whole body._

_His feet hit the ground on every other beat as he ran, speeding up as he approached the fence, towering ahead of him, all its metal horror._

_Quicker, quicker, he speed up, quick 'till all he could see was the metal. Shining, staring him down as he came closer. One foot to ground, the other, then air. Flying and falling all at once, the curls of his hair bouncing, the rope holding it back firmly tied._

_Time slowed as he was in the air, his eyes focusing on the fence. There was no one else- nothing else- in the world. Only him. Floating. One mistake. He blinked._

_The metal was cold as it hit his bare arms, as he slid down it scratched, but he managed to grab onto it,  only a short slip from what he aimed for. He felt gravity once more on his body as he panted, clinging to the metal. 'Made it. Finally.'_

_“Come on," she screamed, a dot in the distance yet all too clear. "Keep going! Do you think they’ll stop to let ‘ch breathe? GO!” Dakota shook his head from his thoughts at her call, quickly looking at the fence spanning before him, then beginning his ascent._

_He looked up as he got closer to see where the fence had a thick bar, then a mess of metal, like vicious snakes wrapped around another with thorns in their skin, above it. Dakota could feel the growl in his chest as he narrowed his eyes. 'Barbed wire, right’, Dakota thought to himself bitterly. 'Bad memories from that- a couple actually- Need to focus'. He kept one hand on the fence as the other reached down to untie the thick blanket from around his hips._

_He untwisted it, a large square of thick, coarse material. He took one end in hand, flipped the rest behind him before making a whip-motion, the blanket going up and hitting the barbed wire, bending over it and smothering the spikes and points almost completely. He continues climbing closer, hand up, then the other. Foot higher, push up, bring the other up. Closer so he could throw a leg and finally get over the wall. He reached one hand for the metal bar between the fence and the hidden wire. Pain ran through his arm, through his chest, shaking and shaking, and falling. He blinked in the air and all was dark._

~~~

     Cavendish wrung his hands, looking away from Dakota to stare and then fiddle with the buttons of his suit jacket. “... I’m sorry about-”

      “Don’t.”

     Dakota rolled over and sat up before pushing off the couch and walking around to behind it. Cavendish tilted his head up, trying to glance over the back of the couch when Dakota suddenly popped up, smiling at Cavendish as he held up his wallet before turning towards the door. He began walking towards it, head turned back to Cavendish.

     “...come on, Cavendish, I saw this nifty restaurant on the way back- in the mood for a Mr. Slushy Burger?” Dakota didn’t wait for a reply as he continued out the door, leaving it open behind him. He was already in the car by the time Cavendish even got down the stairs, sitting behind the wheel and staring off

~~~

_“Morning, Vin-that's just a phrase, its only been a couple minutes... Forget about the electricity at top?” Dakota, once he got accustomed to the light, glared up at the face leaning towards him._

_“     Who in da’ State actually uses ‘lectric on fences?” he grumbles, leaning forward so he could rub the bump on the back of his head. “They ain’t had no ‘lectric back home-”_

_“‘Home’ don’t treat you like shit, Vin-”_

_“Then what am I s’possed t’ call it, hm?”, he spat, glaring at her for a minute before huffing and looking away. “Not ev’ryone got t’ stay in da house, Madam LooLoo-”_

_“Don’t call me that. It's Lucy, Vin… I’d call it a farm, or a plantation, where you're from… Home is where you are safe, where you have family and food-”_

_“Like here?”, Dakota asked, looking around._

_“...Almost. Don't worry 'bout it. Come on, let’s get somethin’ cold on that before we continue training." She reached to feel the bump but he flinched back, shoulders rising up of their own accord. She raised her hands sighed. "We don’t have long before your first time out”_

_"... I know. Both of training and that phrase. I ain't that stupid, Lucy."  She smiled before offering her hand, leaning slightly so he could reach it._ _Taking her hand, he pulled himself up, sighing. She looked him inquisitively and he smiled. He held his up for her to see- a fist bump, he had told everyone._

_“To the revolution?”  She knocked her fist gently against his before letting her hand fall back to her side._

_“To our revolution…”_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Let's see if I can actually finish a fic! I'm sorry, just stating that already.


End file.
